愛華網(wǎng)紐約時報今天的頭版頭條耐人尋味：又一個黃皮膚黑頭發(fā)的李文和？
華裔美國水文專家蒙冤，被控為中國做間諜
紐約時報 NICOLE PERLROTH2015年05月11日
Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
美國聯(lián)邦政府的水文專家陳霞芬去年被控從事間諜活動被逮捕。
2014年10月20日，周一，雪莉·陳（SherryChen，音）像往常一樣，開車前往位于俄亥俄州威明頓市的美國國家氣象局(National WeatherService)工作，她在那里主要負責預測俄亥俄河沿岸的洪水威脅。幾天前她剛從中國回來，時差還沒倒過來。但她表示在走向辦公桌的時候，沒有覺得跟平時有什么不同。然后，她的上司叫她過去。
一走入上司的辦公室，一扇后門打開了，六名聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局(FBI)特工走進來。
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這些特工指控陳盜取密碼，下載與美國水壩相關(guān)的信息，并在與中國高層官員會面一事上撒謊。她是一名水文學家，出生在中國，中文名陳霞芬（音），后來入籍成為美國公民。
作為一名已歸化的中西部人，59歲的陳霞芬曾因為自己的政府服務工作而獲得嘉獎，但現(xiàn)在她被懷疑是中國間諜。她被逮捕，戴著手銬從同事身旁走過，而后被送往40英里（約合64公里）以外的代頓的一家聯(lián)邦法院，她在法院得知自己面臨25年的監(jiān)禁和100萬美元（約合621萬元人民幣）的罰款。
陳霞芬的生活從此天翻地覆。她被停薪停職，在中國的家人需要湊錢支付辯護費用。她的朋友和同事都表示不敢去看她。電視臺的車停在她位于威明頓郊區(qū)的住所外，等著將聚光燈投向這個光天化日下潛伏的外國間諜。威明頓市有1.25萬名居民。
“我睡不著，”陳霞芬最近接受采訪時說?！俺圆幌?。幾天下來什么也沒干，只是哭?！?/p>
五個月后，這種折磨突然結(jié)束了。今年3月，也就是在她本該接受審判的一周之前，檢方在沒有給出理由的情況下，撤消了所有針對陳霞芬的指控。
“我們在行使起訴裁量權(quán)，” 俄亥俄州南區(qū)聯(lián)邦檢察官辦公室發(fā)言人珍妮弗·桑頓(JenniferThornton)說。她還表示，司法部去年提交了400份起訴書和“刑事檢舉書”——涉及認罪協(xié)議的訴訟，駁回了13份起訴書，其中包括針對陳霞芬的訴訟書。聯(lián)邦檢察官不會就調(diào)查作出評論，但毫無疑問的是，執(zhí)法部門面臨新壓力，要對一切可能跟竊取貿(mào)易秘密有關(guān)的線索進行追查。
在過去幾年中，政府官員加強警告，稱中國黑客和被收買的內(nèi)部人士正在盜取美國的商業(yè)秘密及其他機密信息。如今的警世通言是，這個國家只有兩種公司：一種是遭到中國黑客攻擊的公司，另一種是不知道自己遭到中國黑客攻擊的公司。
2013年，貝拉克·奧巴馬總統(tǒng)宣布實行新的反擊策略。主要舉措就是加大調(diào)查及起訴力度，司法部根據(jù)《經(jīng)濟間諜法》(EconomicEspionageAct)提出的訴訟數(shù)量比一年前增加了逾30%。在2014年的前九個月又增加了33%。公開文件顯示，尤其是在2013年以來提出的經(jīng)濟間諜起訴中，有超過一半的案件都與中國有關(guān)。
在這樣的背景下，檢方盯上了陳霞芬。
“他們偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)一些華裔，以及一點點證明他們可能試圖為中國政府謀利的證據(jù)，但這明顯帶有紅色恐慌和種族主義色彩，”專門處理計算機犯罪及工業(yè)間諜案件的前聯(lián)邦檢察官彼得·J·托倫(PeterJ. Toren)說。他現(xiàn)在是華盛頓Weisbrod Matteis &Copley律師事務所的合伙人，出版了《知識產(chǎn)權(quán)與計算機犯罪》(Intellectual Property and ComputerCrimes)一書。
通過對陳霞芬及其前同事的采訪，以及查閱法庭文件——其中包括陳霞芬一年的工作及個人郵件——可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，檢方在尋找她從事間諜工作的證據(jù)，但沒有找到，然后選定了較輕的罪名，但最終撤訴。
“政府以為發(fā)現(xiàn)了個大案，” 審核了該案件的前司法部間諜及計算機犯罪案件檢察官馬克·D·拉施(Mark D.Rasch)說?！皢栴}是事實并不符合法律的要求。”
陳霞芬生于北京，從小就顯露出工科方面的潛質(zhì)。一個叔輩親戚鼓勵她在建筑設計領(lǐng)域發(fā)展，但她說自己對水和空氣的抽象性更感興趣?！澳銢]法用自己的雙眼看到它們，”她說，人顯得興奮起來?！氨饶菑碗s多了。我覺得很迷人?！?/p>
她在北京取得了水文學的高等學位，后來成家并移居美國，在內(nèi)布拉斯加大學(University ofNebraska)攻讀水資源和氣候?qū)W方面的學位。她在1997年成為美國公民。在為密蘇里州工作了11年后，她于2007年接受了俄亥俄州國家氣象局的這份工作。
在威明頓，她和身為電子專家的丈夫住進了一棟牧場風格的房子，離辦公室不遠，兩人開始過上舒適的日常生活。
問她的家或愛好，她可能只會蹦出一兩個詞。但如果問水流或俄亥俄河，她會說上幾個小時。從匹茲堡到與密西西比河交匯的地方，即伊利諾伊州的開羅，俄亥俄河流經(jīng)900多英里（約合1450公里），俄亥俄盆地生活著大約2500萬人。俄亥俄河沿途流經(jīng)美國陸軍工程兵團(U.S.Army Corps ofEngineers)管理的多座水閘和大壩。陳霞芬發(fā)明了一個預測俄亥俄河及其支流洪水的模型。該模型要求連續(xù)不斷地搜集有關(guān)水位和降雨量的數(shù)據(jù)，以及水閘和水壩管理人員對水流做出了怎樣的反應。
陳霞芬在為自己的預測工作搜集數(shù)據(jù)方面出了名的執(zhí)著。因為八年里反復點擊鼠標，她的右手得了腕管綜合征。2007年將陳霞芬招進國家氣象局的托馬斯·亞當斯(ThomasAdams)說，對數(shù)據(jù)的癡迷讓她成了這份工作的最佳人選。
亞當斯說“雪莉過去和現(xiàn)在都致力于在細節(jié)方面準確無誤，這一點非常重要，”他解釋說，一英寸（約合2.5厘米）的水可能決定了堤壩是否能抵擋住洪流。
陳霞芬每年會回北京看望父母，這也是她麻煩的源頭。2012年回北京期間，一個親戚說，他的未來岳父因為一條水管，跟地方政府陷入了一場款項糾紛。
那個親戚知道，陳霞芬以前讀水文學時的同學矯勇，已經(jīng)是中國水利部的副部長了。中國的大量水利基礎(chǔ)設施都歸該部掌管。按照陳霞芬的說法，那個親戚請她聯(lián)系一下矯勇，希望他能幫助自己未來的岳父。陳霞芬說，她當時不愿這么做，因為她和矯勇多年沒見了，但最后還是聯(lián)系了對方。
矯勇的秘書安排了一次15分鐘的聊天，地點在矯勇位于北京市中心的辦公室。矯勇表示他會盡力調(diào)解。隨著交談的進行，矯勇還提到自己正在為修繕中國陳舊的水庫系統(tǒng)撥款，并且好奇在美國會給這種項目提供多少錢。
陳霞芬說，那個問題是隨口問的，但她卻因為不知道答案而感到尷尬。
回到俄亥俄后，她開始了解更多信息。最后，她給矯勇發(fā)了一封電子郵件，里面有一些網(wǎng)站的鏈接，但沒有和他的問題直接相關(guān)的內(nèi)容。
她還向時任工程兵團水務管理部負責人黛博拉·H·李(Deborah H. Lee)求助。多年來，她曾在多個項目上和李共事。
法庭文件中的電子郵件副本顯示，李讓陳霞芬上水務部網(wǎng)站去看，并對陳霞芬說，如果她的老同學還有其他問題，可以直接聯(lián)系她。于是，陳霞芬給矯勇發(fā)了第二封，也是最后一封電子郵件，告訴他如果還有任何問題，可以直接給李打電話。
在與陳霞芬互通電子郵件后不久，李便將她們之間的通信匯報給了國家氣象局的上級機構(gòu)商務部的安全人員?！拔覔挠腥嗽诖硗鈬嫒媸占绹戃姽こ瘫鴪F水務控制手冊，”李寫道。
黛博拉·李不愿就發(fā)送郵件的動機置評。去年9月，她離開陸軍工程兵團，前往國家海洋和大氣管理局(National OceanicAtmosphericAdministration)工作。該局的一位女發(fā)言人說，李和管理局都不愿意就他們所謂的“人事事務”發(fā)表評論。
如果說矯勇想要招募陳霞芬，那么他也太不上心了。他過了一周才回復陳霞芬的第一封郵件。“嗨，霞芬：你的郵件我收到了，”他用英語寫道?！爸x謝你轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)給我的信息。我會仔細看看的?！彼牡诙忄]件更簡練：“非常感謝?！?/p>
調(diào)查人員取得了搜查陳霞芬的工作郵件及私人郵件的搜查令。搜查結(jié)果顯示，他們之間的通信僅限于這種程度。
為了回答矯勇的問題，陳霞芬查詢了國家水壩數(shù)據(jù)庫(National Inventory ofDams)。政府工作人員和申請了登錄憑證的公眾，都可以進入這個由陸軍工程兵團運營的數(shù)據(jù)庫。網(wǎng)站上的一小部分數(shù)據(jù)——70個字段中的6個——只對政府工作人員開放。
作為政府雇員，陳霞芬曾有訪問整個數(shù)據(jù)庫的權(quán)限。但她當時沒有密碼，在陳霞芬最后一次使用該數(shù)據(jù)庫之后，政府于2009年開始要求登錄者提供密碼。于是，她向坐在臨近的工位的雷·戴維斯(RayDavis)求助。戴維斯之前已經(jīng)把密碼和登錄說明告知了整個辦公室，此時又通過電子郵件把密碼告訴了她。
陳霞芬并沒有找到太多可以提供給矯勇的有用信息，但確實下載了一些關(guān)于俄亥俄州水壩的數(shù)據(jù)——她認為這些數(shù)據(jù)可能與她的預測模型有關(guān)。對于矯勇，陳霞芬在寫給他的第二封郵件中附上了這個數(shù)據(jù)庫的鏈接，并指出“這個數(shù)據(jù)庫只對政府用戶開放，非政府用戶無法從這個網(wǎng)站下載任何數(shù)據(jù)。”她告訴矯勇，如果他有任何問題，或者需要任何信息，可以聯(lián)系李——這時她剛剛舉報陳霞芬有間諜嫌疑。
后來，當戴維斯接受商務部官員訊問時，他說自己不記得曾把密碼提供給陳霞芬。陳霞芬也說不記得收到過密碼。根據(jù)二人接受約談的報告，他們都不認為自己的行為有何不妥。
不過，密碼的問題還將繼續(xù)困擾她。在黛博拉·李舉報她將近一年之后，商務部的兩名特工來到她的辦公室。他們針對前述的密碼和她與那名中國官員15分鐘的會面，審問了她七個小時。
當被問到最后一次與矯勇見面是什么時候時，她回答道，“是我上次探望父母的時候，應該是2011年，2011年5月?！?/p>
2014年9月，當陳霞芬和丈夫準備從新澤西州紐瓦克乘坐美聯(lián)航(UnitedAirlines)的一架班機飛往北京時，他們在登機過程中被攔下。他們的行李被拿走，并遭到搜查。陳霞芬說，他們最后還是獲準登機，那時飛機已經(jīng)耽擱了一個多小時。
去年10月，在那次出行回國后，陳霞芬遭到逮捕。她在代頓的法庭受到了四項重罪指控，罪名包括她從一個保密的政府數(shù)據(jù)庫——國家水壩數(shù)據(jù)庫——非法下載關(guān)于“關(guān)鍵國家基礎(chǔ)設施”的數(shù)據(jù)，以及做出虛假陳述。
這里的虛假陳述指的是她曾告訴特工，自己最后一次見到矯勇是在2011年，而非2012年。隨后，她面臨的指控又增加另外四項。
她于同一天獲釋，并被迫處于無薪行政離職狀態(tài)。
陳霞芬的代理律師，華盛頓律所Arent Fox合伙人彼得·R·蔡登博格(Peter R.Zeidenberg)稱，他認為政府追究陳霞芬使用同事密碼的責任，卻不追究把密碼給她——而且給了整個辦公室——的那名同事的責任，這個事實很能說明問題。（戴維斯及目前在國家氣象局任職的其他任何人，都不愿意為此文發(fā)表評論。）
她的前同事亞當斯稱，他認為陳霞芬的中國背景產(chǎn)生了影響?！叭绻悄阄?，或者其他歐洲后裔借用了別人的密碼，”他說，“他們就會說，‘下不為例’?！彼€說：“這就是政府對她作為一名聯(lián)邦公務員的辛勤工作和奉獻所表示的感激。太可恥了。”
離審判開始還有一周時，蔡登博格要求會見俄亥俄州南區(qū)的兩名聯(lián)邦檢察官，卡特·M·斯圖爾特(Carter M.Stewart)和馬克·T·德亞歷山德羅(Mark T. D’Alessandro)。
蔡登博格說，他問道：“如果她是間諜，為什么要在從中國回來之后，告訴同事‘我在中國見了這個人，他想知道這些信息’？她為什么要告訴中國的那個人，‘這是我老板的電話號碼’？為什么她要通過電子郵件獲取密碼？你會這么做嗎？”
蔡登博格說檢察官聽進去了。3月10日，在會談次日，他們撤銷了這些指控。
“感謝上帝，”蔡登博格還說。
陳霞芬的福利和工資都已恢復，但她還要等待，看商務部是否會允許她回去工作。處理陳霞芬案件的商務部律師莎拉·瑞安(SaraRyan)稱，她不愿談論此事。商務部代表也沒有答復置評請求。
當陳霞芬的前同事亞當斯被問到，他是否認為陳霞芬應該回到原來的工作崗位時，他說他很矛盾。“我希望她能盡快討回自己的工作，”他說。“但是從另一方面考慮，我又希望她再也別回去了。她受到那樣的對待，應該小心政府還沒死心?！?/p>本文內(nèi)容版權(quán)歸紐約時報公司所有，任何單位及個人未經(jīng)許可，不得擅自轉(zhuǎn)載或翻譯。
Accused of Spying for China, Until She Wasn’t
By NICOLE PERLROTH May 11,2015
Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
Sherry Chen, a hydrologist for the federal government in Ohio,was arrested last October and accused of economic espionage.Afterward, she said, “I did nothing but cry for days.”
On Monday, Oct. 20, 2014, Sherry Chen drove, as usual, to heroffice at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, whereshe forecast flood threats along the Ohio River. She was a bitjet-lagged, having returned a few days earlier from a visit toChina. But as she headed to her desk, she says, she had no reasonto think it was anything other than an ordinary day. Then her bosssummoned her.
Once inside his office, a back door opened and in walked sixagents from the FBI.
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The agents accused Chen, a hydrologist born in China and now anaturalized U.S. citizen, of using a stolen password to downloadinformation about the nation's dams and of lying about meeting witha high-ranking Chinese official.
Chen, 59, an adoptive Midwesterner who had received awards forher government service, was now suspected of being a Chinese spy.She was arrested and led in handcuffs past her co-workers to afederal courthouse 40 miles away in Dayton, where she was told shefaced 25 years in prison and $1 million in fines.
Her life went into a tailspin. She was suspended without payfrom her job, and her family in China had to scramble for money topay for her legal defense. Friends and co-workers said they wereafraid to visit. Television news trucks parked outside her house,waiting to spot a foreign spy hiding in plain sight in suburbanWilmington, population 12,500.
“I could not sleep,” Chen said in a recent interview. “I couldnot eat. I did nothing but cry for days.”
Then, five months later, the ordeal abruptly ended. In March,just a week before she was scheduled to go on trial, prosecutorsdropped all charges against Chen without explanation.
“We are exercising our prosecutorial discretion,” said JenniferThornton, the spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney for the SouthernDistrict of Ohio. She added that last year the Justice Departmentfiled 400 indictments and “criminal informations” — charges filedin connection with plea agreements — and dismissed 13 of them,including Chen's. The U.S. attorney would not comment on theinvestigation, but there is little question that law enforcement isfacing new pressure to pursue any lead that could be related totrade-secret theft.
For the past few years, government officials have noted withgrowing alarm that Chinese hackers and paid insiders were spiritingtrade secrets and other confidential information out of the UnitedStates. The mantra, these days, is that there are only two types ofcompanies left in this country: those that have been hacked byChina and those that do not know they have been hacked byChina.
In 2013, President Barack Obama announced a new strategy tofight back. The cornerstone was more aggressive investigations andprosecutions, and Justice Department prosecutions under theEconomic Espionage Act jumped more than 30 percent from the yearbefore. During the first nine months of 2014, the total increasedan additional 33 percent. Notably, more than half of the economicespionage indictments since 2013 have had a China connection,public documents show.
It was in this climate that prosecutors zeroed in on Chen.
“They came across a person of Chinese descent and a little bitof evidence that they may have been trying to benefit the Chinesegovernment, but it's clear there was a little bit of Red Scare andracism involved,” said Peter J. Toren, a former federal prosecutorwho specialized in computer crimes and industrial espionage. He isnow a partner at Weisbrod Matteis & Copley in Washington andthe author of “Intellectual Property and Computer Crimes.”
Interviews with Chen and her former colleagues and a review ofcourt filings, which include a year's worth of Chen's work andpersonal emails, suggest that prosecutors hunted for evidence ofespionage, failed and settled on lesser charges that theyeventually dropped.
“The government thought they had struck gold with this case,”said Mark D. Rasch, a former Justice Department espionage andcomputer-crimes prosecutor who reviewed the case. “The problem wasthe facts didn't quite meet the law here.”
Chen, whose given name is Xiafen, was born in Beijing. From anearly age, she was an engineering type. An uncle encouraged her topursue a career in building design, but she says she was moreinterested in the abstract nature of water and air. “You can't seethem with your own two eyes,” she said, growing animated. “It's somuch more complex than that. I found it fascinating.”
She earned advanced degrees in hydrology in Beijing, married andmoved to the United States to pursue a degree in water resourcesand climatology at the University of Nebraska. She became a U.S.citizen in 1997. After 11 years working for the state of Missouri,she took the job at the weather service in Ohio in 2007.
In Wilmington, she and her husband, an electronics specialist,moved into a ranch-style house a short drive from her office,settling into a life of comfortable routine.
Ask Chen about her home or hobbies and you may get a word ortwo. Ask her about water flow or the Ohio River and she will talkfor hours. Some 25 million people live along the Ohio River basin,which runs more than 900 miles from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois,where it joins the Mississippi River. Along the way, it flowsthrough locks and dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers. Chen developed a forecasting model for predicting floodsalong the Ohio and its tributaries. The model involves constantdata-gathering about water levels and rainfall, as well as how damand lock operators respond to water flow.
Chen was known to be tenacious in her pursuit of data for herpredictions. She developed carpal-tunnel syndrome in her right handfrom eight years of repetitive mouse clicks. Thomas Adams, whohired Chen at the National Weather Service in 2007, said herfascination with data made her perfect for the job.
“Sherry is and was dedicated to getting the details right — andthat matters significantly,” Adams said, noting that one inch ofwater could make the difference between a levee holding orfailing.
Chen would return to Beijing every year to visit her parents,which is how her troubles began. During her 2012 trip, a nephewsaid that his future father-in-law was in a payment dispute withprovincial officials over a water pipeline.
The nephew knew that one of Chen's former hydrology classmates,Jiao Yong, had become vice minister of China's Ministry of WaterResources, which oversees much of China's water infrastructure. AsChen tells it, her nephew asked her to reach out to Jiao, hoping hemight be able to help his future wife's father. Chen said she wasreluctant to do so since she had not seen Jiao in many years butultimately contacted him.
Jiao's secretary set up a 15-minute chat in his office indowntown Beijing, and Jiao said he would try to intercede. As theirconversation wound down, he also mentioned that he was in theprocess of funding repairs for China's aging reservoir systems andwas curious how such projects were funded in the United States.
It was a casual question, Chen said, but she was embarrassed notto know the answer.
When she returned to Ohio, she set out to learn more. Sheeventually sent Jiao an email with links to websites but nothingdirectly relevant to his question.
She also asked for help from Deborah H. Lee, then the chief ofthe water management division at the Army Corps of Engineers, withwhom Chen had worked on projects over the years.
Copies of emails included in court documents show that Leedirected Chen to her agency's website and told her that if herformer classmate had further questions, he could contact herdirectly. Chen then sent a second, final email to Jiao instructinghim to call Lee directly with any additional questions.
Shortly after her email exchange with Chen, Lee reported theircorrespondence to security staff at the Department of Commerce, theagency over the National Weather Service. “I'm concerned that aneffort is being made to collect a comprehensive collection of U.S.Army Corps of Engineers water control manuals on behalf of aforeign interest,” Lee wrote.
Lee would not comment on her motivations for sending the email.Last September, she left the Army Corps of Engineers for a job atthe National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. A spokeswoman forNOAA said neither Lee nor the agency would comment on what theydeemed a “personnel matter.”
If Jiao was trying to recruit Chen, he was awfully lackadaisicalabout it. It took a week to respond to her first email. “Hi Xiafen:Your email received,” he wrote, in English. “Thanks for informationyou forward me. I will go through it.” His second email wasbriefer: “Thanks a lot.”
That was the extent of their correspondence, according tofindings of a search warrant for Chen's work and personal emailrecords.
In her search for an answer to Jiao's question, Chen had gonethrough the National Inventory of Dams database. That database,which is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers, is available togovernment workers and members of the public who request logincredentials. A small subset of the data on the site — six of 70data fields — is available only to government workers.
As a government employee, Chen would have had full access to thedatabase. But she didn't have a password; the government beganrequiring passwords in 2009, after the last time Chen had used it.So she asked a colleague, Ray Davis, in the adjacent cubicle, forhelp. Davis, who had already provided the password and logininstructions to the whole office, emailed the password to her.
Chen didn't find much useful information for Jiao but diddownload data about Ohio dams that she thought could be relevant toher forecasting model. For Jiao, she included a link to thedatabase in her second email and noted that “this database is onlyfor government users, and nongovernment users are not able todownload any data from this site.” If he had any questions, orneeded information, she told him, he should contact Lee — who hadjust reported Chen as a possible spy.
When Davis was later questioned by Commerce officials, he saidhe did not remember giving Chen a password. Chen said she did notremember receiving one. And they did not believe they had doneanything wrong, according to reports of their interviews.
The password, however, would come to haunt her. Nearly a yearafter Lee's tip, Chen was visited at her office by two specialagents from the Commerce Department. They interrogated her forseven hours about the password and her 15-minute meeting with theChinese official.
Asked when she last met with Jiao, she responded, “It was thelast time I visited my parents, I think 2011, May 2011.”
In September 2014, Chen and her husband were stopped whileboarding a United Airlines flight to Beijing from Newark, NewJersey. Their baggage was pulled and searched. Chen said they wereultimately allowed to return to the plane, which had been held formore than an hour.
It was after returning from that trip, in October, that she wasarrested. At the Dayton courthouse, she was charged with fourfelonies, including that she had illegally downloaded data about“critical national infrastructure” from a restricted governmentdatabase — the National Inventory of Dams — and made falsestatements.
The false statement referred to telling the agents that she hadlast seen Jiao in 2011, not 2012. Four other charges were addedlater.
She was released the same day and placed on unpaidadministrative leave.
Peter R. Zeidenberg, a partner at Arent Fox in Washington whorepresented Chen, said he believed it was telling that thegovernment went after Chen for using a colleague's password but notafter the colleague who gave it to her — and to the entire office.(Neither Davis nor anyone else currently employed at the NationalWeather Service would comment for this article.)
Adams, her former colleague, said he thought that Chen's Chinesebackground played a role. “If this had been you or me or someone ofEuropean descent who borrowed someone else's password,” he said,“they would have said, `Don't do this again.”' He added: “This isthe gratitude the government has shown for her hard work anddedication as a federal public servant. It's shameful.”
A week before the trial was to begin, Zeidenberg requested ameeting with Carter M. Stewart and Mark T. D'Alessandro, two U.S.attorneys for the Southern District of Ohio.
“Why,” Zeidenberg said he asked, “if she's a spy, is she comingback from China and telling her colleagues that `I met this guy inChina and this is what he wants to know'? Why is she telling theguy in China, `Here's my boss' phone number'? Why is she asking fora password over email? Why would you do that?”
Zeidenberg says the prosecutors listened. On March 10, the dayafter their meeting, they dismissed the charges.
“Thank God,” Zeidenberg added.
Chen's benefits and pay have been restored, but she is waitingto hear whether the Commerce Department will allow her to return towork. Sara Ryan, the department lawyer handling Chen's case, saidshe would not discuss it. Representatives for the department didnot return requests for comment.
Asked whether he thought Chen should get her job back, Adams,her former colleague, said he was torn. “I want her to get her jobback as soon as possible,” he said. “But on the other hand, I alsohope she never goes back there again. After the way she wastreated, she should be concerned that the government hasn't givenup the ghost.”
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